Rabbi's Message

Rabbi Elyse Wechterman
Read about the Rabbi
January 2006
A Shift in Conservative thinking

Last month, the leadership of the conservative movement made a statement indicating that they would aggressively seek to convert the non-Jewish partners and children of their Jewish members. This represents a change in Conservative movement policy which had previously campaigned against intermarriage altogether and remained largely unwelcoming toward interfaith families in their congregations. Reform and Reconstructionist congregations have long sought to welcome interfaith families into our communities. In response to a column in the Attleboro Sun Chronicle protesting the Conservative movement's position, I felt compelled to write the following letter.

To the editors:

This letter is in response to Larry Kessler's column on Wednesday, December 4 condemning the Conservative branch of American Judaism for its recently publicized decision to encourage conversion among non-Jewish partners of their members.

While I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Kessler's claim that actively seeking to convert non-Jews to Judaism has not been a widespread practice in recent Jewish history and that aggressively pushing conversion could be seen as intolerant and bigoted toward our non-Jewish neighbors and friends, I do want to clarify some nuances and subtleties I believe Mr. Kessler overlooked.

Over the past half-century, Jews have been ever more widely and fully integrated into American society - a wonderful accomplishment and gift of American democracy. Rarely do we experience the quotas, locked doors and overt anti-Semitism faced by previous generations of American Jews. Along with growing tolerance and participation we have seen a rise in the number of intermarriages between Jews and non-Jews. In many ways, we can celebrate how far we have come as an accepted segment of the American population by noting that very few people even raise an eyebrow or look askance when a non-Jew marries a Jew. That is an accomplishment.

By the same token, the increasing numbers of interfaith households has been cause for alarm in some sectors of the Jewish community. For some, intermarriage is seen as a threat to the very survival of the Jewish people as a unique and cohesive community. Many -- like Conservative Judaism until recently -- chose to actively condemn intermarriage or to ignore it outright. Against that backdrop, the decision of the Conservative movement to encourage conversion may actually be an opening up of sorts.

It is important to note that other branches and movements within Judaism have been both more open to interfaith families and encouraging of honest exploration of Judaism by others for many years. I can report from experience that Congregation Agudas Achim here in Attleboro (A Reconstructionist congregation) has been blessed with many, many interfaith families that have enriched our community and added to the vibrancy of our Jewish life. Both those partners and spouses who have become, as we call them, "Jews-by-choice", and those that remain fellow travelers are an integral part of our community and synagogue family.

By fostering a sense of openness and accessibility that invites all Jews and their families to participate at any level, we have enabled many to explore Judaism as a rich resource for finding meaning and community in their lives.

Of course "forced" or "aggressive" conversions should be abhorrent to Jews, having experienced them through the ages. And I do not think the Conservative movement's statement goes quite that far. But I see nothing wrong with inviting people in and letting them know that we value their presence and their participation on our collective spiritual journeys. If they choose to officially join us through conversion - how much richer we become!

B'Shalom
Rabbi Elyse

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